RET 1024 Introduction to Respiratory Therapy

1
RET 1024Introduction to Respiratory Therapy

• Module 6.0
• Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care
• Based on Shelley C. Mishoes Critical Thinking
  and Problem-Based Learning in Respiratory Care,
  as presented in Respiratory Care Principles and
  Practice, W.B. Saunders Company, 2002

2
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• For all medical professionals, information
  processing and decision making are at the core of
  clinical practice

3
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• To be an effective practitioner and a vital,
  functioning member or todays health care team,
  respiratory therapists need more than just a
  knowledge base

4
(No Transcript)
5
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Respiratory practitioners must become better
  thinkers, with the critical thinking skills and
  traits necessary to make appropriate clinical
  decisions

6
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Common Definition of Critical Thinking
• Cognitive problem solving
• Dressel and Mayhew, 1954
• Thinking in order to believe or do
• Ennis, 1962
• Logical reasoning
• Hallet, 1984
• Rational and purposeful attempt to use thought to
  move toward a future goal
• Halpern, 1989

7
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Common Definition of Critical Thinking
• Discipline-specific knowledge, skill and
  attitudes to solve real problems
• McPeck, 1990
• An understanding of and an ability to formulate,
  analyze, and assess the elements of thought
• Paul, 1993
• Logical reasoning, problem solving and reflection
• Mishoe, 1995

8
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for Critical Thinking in
  Practice
• Prioritization
• Anticipation
• Troubleshooting
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Decision Making
• Reflection

9
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Prioritization
• The ability to arrange work according to the
  importance of the task
• Organized Think - Prioritizing work that is
  already scheduled
• Rapid Think Prioritizing work that unexpected
• Example
• STAT blood gas Code Blue in ICU Patient
  Transport Asthmatic in ED

10
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Prioritization
• Respiratory therapists must quickly prioritize
  responsibilities and tasks and must communicate
  quickly and effectively with others (e.g.,
  nurses, physicians, other RTs) so that all
  patients receive optimal care patient lives may
  depend it

11
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Anticipation
• The ability to think ahead and envision possible
  problems
• Future Think The ability to see the big
  picture
• RTs anticipate when they
• Modify respiratory care
• Expect a new patient
• Plan ahead for equipment needs
• Prepare what they intend to discuss with
  physicians
• Notice subtle changes in their patients
  condition that may indicate problems

12
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Troubleshooting
• The ability to locate, correct, and process
  technical problems
• Technical Think
• RTs should be able to
• Learn and introduce new equipment
• Adapt new technology for particular needs
• Correct equipment malfunctions or breakdowns

13
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Communication
• Critical thinking in practice is very much
  dependent on communication with others as a
  primary means to give and receive information
  necessary for patient care poor communication
  leads to poor critical thinking
• People Think

14
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Communication
• Poor communication skills result in the inability
  to
• Gather the appropriate information to interpret,
  analyze, evaluate, infer, judge, or explain
• Share information with other members of the
  healthcare team
• Educate patients and their families
• Reassure or explain care to patients
• Mentor respiratory therapy students and other new
  clinicians

15
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Negotiation
• Is the initiation of discussion to influence
  others
• Shared Think
• Teamwork
• Use of influence
• Making recommendations for patient care
• Contacting physicians to discuss a patient

16
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Negotiation
• Practitioners must negotiate for what they
  believe is best for a given situation in practice
• Negotiation does not necessarily mean conflict,
  confrontation, or difficulty
• If practitioners cannot negotiate, then their
  patients have only limited access to their
  expertise, including their cognitive
  critical-thinking skills

17
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Negotiation
• Effective negotiators
• Good communication skills
• Good judgment/decision-making skills
• Are able to explain how they came to their
  conclusions and suggestions
• Often phrase their suggestions as questions

18
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Negotiation
• Physicians have final authority regarding medical
  orders and patient-care decisions
• Respiratory therapists should understand that
  they have a responsibility to make appropriate
  recommendations regarding respiratory care but
  should also realize their limitations

19
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Decision Making
• The ability to reach a conclusion
• Personal Think
• Reviewing evidence against and in favor of a
  position
• Not ignoring disconfirming evidence
• Recognizing errors or mistakes in thinking
• Willingness to reconsider a position when
  presented with conflicting alternatives in
  practice

20
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Essential Skills for CT in Practice
• Reflection
• The ability to think about thinking
• Inward Think Introspective
• Past Think Retrospective
• Reflecting on work, patients, decisions, and the
  profession
• Exploring assumptions, opinions, biases, and
  decisions
• Learning from mistakes and problems handling the
  pain or errors

21
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
• Critical thinkers demonstrate common affective
  qualities characteristics
• Inquisitiveness
• A concern to be well-informed
• Alertness to opportunities to use critical
  thinking
• Trust in the process of reasoning inquiry
• Self-confidence in ones own ability to reason

22
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
• Critical thinkers demonstrate common affective
  qualities characteristics
• Open-mindedness
• Honesty
• Prudence in suspension of judgment
• Willingness to reconsider

23
Critical Thinking In Respiratory Care

• Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
• Respiratory therapists are challenged not only
  to foster the development of their own critical
  thinking skills but also to develop the
  dispositions of others in their personal and
  professional lives

24

• Prioritization is defined as which of the
  following?
• The ability to arrange work according to the
  importance of the task
• The ability to think ahead and envision possible
  problems
• The ability to locate, correct, and process
  technical problems
• None of the above

25

• Anticipation is defined as which of the
  following?
• The ability to arrange work according to the
  importance of the task
• The ability to think ahead and envision possible
  problems
• The ability to locate, correct, and process
  technical problems
• None of the above

26

• Troubleshooting is defined as which of the
  following?
• The ability to arrange work according to the
  importance of the task
• The ability to think ahead and envision possible
  problems
• The ability to locate, correct, and process
  technical problems
• None of the above

27

• Which of the following is true regarding poor
  communication?
• Leads to poor critical thinking
• Results in the inability to do gather the
  appropriate information
• Results in the inability to share information
  with other members of the healthcare team and/or
  patients and family members
• Results in the inability to mentor respiratory
  therapy students and other new clinicians
• All of the above

28

• Negotiation is defined as which of the
  following?
• Is the initiation of discussion to influence
  others
• The ability to reach a conclusion
• The ability to think about thinking
• None of the above

29

• Which of the following statements is not true
  regarding Negotiation?
• Practitioners must negotiate for what they
  believe is best for a given situation in practice
• Negotiation, unfortunately, always involves some
  degree of conflict, confrontation, or difficulty
• If practitioners cannot negotiate, then their
  patients have only limited access to their
  expertise, including their cognitive
  critical-thinking skills
• An important point to remember when negotiating
  is that physicians have final authority regarding
  medical orders and patient-care decisions

30

• It is essential that effective negotiators
  possess good communication skills and are able to
  explain how they came to their conclusions and
  suggestions.
• True
• False

31

• It is also essential that effective negotiators
  possess good judgment/decision-making skills and
  often phrase their suggestions as questions.
• True
• False

32

• Decision Making is defined as which of the
  following?
• Is the initiation of discussion to influence
  others
• The ability to reach a conclusion
• The ability to think about thinking
• None of the above

33

• Reflection is defined as which of the
  following?
• Is the initiation of discussion to influence
  others
• The ability to reach a conclusion
• The ability to think about thinking
• None of the above

34

• Critical Thinkers demonstrate inquisitiveness
  and are concerned with being well-informed.
• True
• False

• Which is true regarding Critical Thinkers
• Demonstrate inquisitiveness and are concerned
  with being well-informed.
• Demonstrate the characteristics of honesty and
  open-mindedness
• Demonstrate characteristics of prudence in
  suspension of judgment and willingness to
  reconsider
• All of the above

35

• Respiratory therapists are challenged not only to
  foster the development of their own critical
  thinking skills but also to develop the
  dispositions of others in their personal and
  professional lives
• True
• False